17 FAQs About the Capital One Venture Card [Transfers, Perks, Value & More]

It is now more important than ever to understand the best ways to redeem different points because more and more banks are providing transferable miles and points.

Before the addition of Capital One to the transferable miles game, users could only redeem these miles at 1 cent for every point.

Currently, though, Capital One has made it possible to get much more value by transferring to airline partners for your award flights. Below are the top frequently asked questions about Capital One miles, which you can earn with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

1. When converting Capital One miles to airline partners, what is the transfer ratio?

Currently, you’ll earn 2 miles for each dollar spent on all purchases with the Capital One Venture card. Outside of airlines, these miles can be redeemed for 1 cent each toward the expense of a travel purchase.

But with airline transfers now available, users can transfer their Capital One miles into airline miles at a ratio 1 Capital One mile to 1 airline miles for most partners (with the exception of EVA Air where the ratio is 2:1.5).

Let’s take a look at Capital One’s airline transfer partners:

Bottom Line: Capital One miles transfer to airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio in most cases (the exceptions are EVA Air where the ratio is 2:1.5 and Accor where the ratio is 2:1).

2. Who should use the new mileage transfer option?

The mileage transfer option is great for experienced travelers who would like to transfer their mileage to a variety of airline currencies (and know how to use those currencies).

The advantage of transferring Capital One miles to airline programs is that usually the price of a ticket is not linked to the number of miles needed.

Normally, you’d get a continuous 2% of value for every Capital One mile, or 2 cents per dollar spent. However, transferring to airline miles allow you to get anything from a fraction of a cent to over 10 cents of value for every mile!

The most significant benefit with the new redemption plan is that you can redeem miles for international business and first class airline tickets, which normally cost thousands of dollars. In addition, you can use these airline miles toward upgrades if you already have a purchased ticket.

3. Can you only fly on airlines that are a transfer partner?

Some of you may be wondering whether Capital One allows you to transfer miles to ANA and other airlines, as well as what plans are in place to redeem them for flights. Well, these partnerships have provided unmatched benefits.

Currently, users can transfer Capital One Miles to several airline programs. Remember that when you transfer miles to your airline loyalty program of choice, that doesn’t mean you have to travel with that airline — for example, you can use Singapore KrisFlyer miles to fly on United.

The easiest way to determine what airlines you can fly on is to look at the various alliances and which transfer partner is a part of which alliance.

4. Should I always transfer miles to airlines?

Simply put, you should not always transfer miles to airlines. Although the capability to convert points into airline miles is tempting and thrilling, you may get a much better deal by using the old redemption method.

If you amass a lot of Capital One miles, you may find it worthwhile to earn a particular elite status with an airline by using miles to cover the cost of cash tickets. This is an option I would personally consider, since I value elite status.

5. What is the process to redeem Capital One miles as you transfer them?

When converting Capital One miles into airline miles, you should follow the following procedure:

• Look at the loyalty programs you can transfer into.
• Check the airline’s award charts to understand the miles needed for a redemption
• Check out the partners that these loyalty programs possess beyond their “home” carrier. For example, you can use Qantas points on American Airlines flights.
  • The easiest way to do this is to look up the alliance that airline belongs to — from there, you can normally get tickets on any other carrier within the same alliance.
• Try searching for availability of award seats. In some situations, you can do this from the loyalty program’s site directly.
• Transfer your Capital One miles into the loyalty program after confirming availability and verifying the price (both in cash and miles). I recommend not transferring the miles out speculatively — only transfer when you have a firm award to book.

hot tip: Always have a use for your miles before transferring them — once you’ve transferred your miles, there’s no going back!

6. Is the Capital One Venture Card flexible compared to other credit cards?

When it comes to credit card rewards, people regularly have to decide whether they need points that can be redeemed toward the expense of any travel or points that can be converted into airline miles. The new mileage transfer policy has made the Capital One Venture card well-rounded.

Remember that you’re earning 2x miles on all purchases — you’ll find those points add up quickly!

For each dollar spent on the card, you have the choice of earning 2 airline miles (1.5 miles for EVA Air) on all types of trips (these are the miles you convert to airline programs, and then redeem them on those partners if there is award availability) or — you can redeem miles plainly for 2 cents toward the price of a travel purchase, just like cash.

Many other credit cards only earn 1x on other purchases. So, you should do the math and see if 2x airline miles per dollar spent makes sense for you, if you don’t have another credit card that may earn a higher category bonus (for example, 3x at restaurants).

7. Who is the Capital One Venture Card intended for?

The Capital One Venture card was originally intended for those who wanted to simplify their lives since there were no transfer partners until recently. In fact, their marketing campaigns focused on the fact that you could redeem miles toward any flight.

It’s great to use miles for eliminating travel expenses on your statement without having to think about various loyalty programs. But it can also be beneficial to diversify your loyalty currency portfolio and redeem with some hidden-gem airline programs.

Now, with the new ability to move your miles to many different airline programs, the appeal of this card has changed significantly. Besides giving you a solid return on your credit card expenses, the Capital One Venture card has incorporated 2 other crucial benefits:

• A statement credit for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry once per 4 years, which is worth close to $100.

Bottom Line: Taken together, recent changes make the Capital One Venture card more suited for those who are interested in frequent travel, especially internationally.

8. Does the Capital One Venture card have any bonuses or perks?

Yes, the Capital One Venture card does typically carry a welcome bonus offer — make sure to check for the current offer. This is probably the most popular card offered in Capital One’s lineup.

Even better, with transfer partners available, your bonus miles are no longer worth a flat 1 cent apiece. Instead, we assume that the miles are worth 1.8 cents each. (This is based on an analysis of the present redemption options and airline transfer partners available through each.)

With this in mind, you should note that a large mile welcome offer would be worth hundreds of dollars worth of travel! 

The Capital One Venture card also offers an application fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

You can gift this perk to a family member or friend if you won’t use it — and this benefit alone pays for the annual fee of the card (a Global Entry application costs $100).

9. How do you earn Capital One miles?

Earning miles with the Capital One Venture card is a walk in the park — this is what makes the card helpful to those who don’t want to spend a lot of energy and time swapping credit cards at various merchants.

Generally, you’ll earn 2 miles per dollar spent with the card on each transaction. This means that you will usually get 2 cents in travel for each dollar spent on purchases with no yearly cap. So, the more miles you earn, the more travel expenditures you can cover and remove from your statement.

Basically, you don’t need to think about what card to pull out of your wallet when you shop: if you use the CapOneVenture card, you’ll earn a decent amount of miles, and you won’t need to second-guess yourself.

Bottom Line: You can earn 2 miles on every purchase, no matter where you shop. There’s no need to switch cards.

10. Which cards rival the Capital One Venture card?

A couple of years ago, fixed-value credit cards used to be the leading competitor to the Capital One Venture card.

Now, you’ll find cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card and Amex EveryDay^® Preferred Credit Card from American Express as rivals. Each of those cards has a great multiplier on everyday purchases.

Still, the Capital One Venture card is a solid option if you’ll use the benefits it offers.

Hot Tip: Check out our head-to-head comparison of the Capital One Venture card to its big brother, the Capital One Venture X card.

11. How does the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card operate, and how does that compare to the Venture Card?

You may have seen an ad for the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card on TV, and many people have this card but don’t know how it compares to the Capital One Venture card.

When you make a purchase on your Capital One cash-back credit card (such as the Quicksilver Card or Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card), the amount of the purchase will generate an applicable percentage of cash-back. For example, if you spend $50 on dining via the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, you will get close to $2 cash-back put into your Capital One account.

When redeeming your cash-back, you just need to sign in to your Capital One account online, check your rewards balances, and then select the redemption option you want:

• Statement credit applied to your balance
• Charitable donation
• Gift cards
• A mailed check

In contrast, as we’ve discussed, the Capital One Venture card earns similar miles that can be used for the same cashback as above — or also transferred to the many airline partners.

Hot Tip: If you own a business, you might want to check out these business credit cards from Capital One.

12. What is the best Capital One credit card for travel?

The best Capital One credit card for you depends on your spending habits and whether you want to pay a yearly fee or not. This is because personal Capital One credit cards offer bonus categories that provide higher rewards for spending in specific categories.

Higher reward categories include entertainment, dining, and hotels. For those who have high spending in these categories, consider using the Venture Card for hotel purchases. On the other hand, you can use the Capital One Savor Card for cash-back at entertainment and dining purchases for a lower annual fee.

There is also the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, which may be appealing: this card earns 1.25x miles on every purchase. This card could be a no-brainer in your wallet since it earns more than 1 point per dollar.

Let’s recap:

• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card — 4% cash-back on dining and entertainment, 2% back on grocery stores, and 1% everywhere else
• Capital One Quicksilver — Unlimited 1.5% cash-back on every purchase
• Capital One Venture card — Unlimited 2x miles on every purchase
• Capital One Venture X card — Unlimited 2x miles on every purchase

Bottom Line: If you want a card that rewards travel purchases, apply for the Capital One Venture card — for frequent travelers, airline miles are almost always more valuable than cash-back.

13. How do I redeem Capital One miles at a fixed value?

Here is a simplified step-by-step guide for using Capital One miles at a fixed value:

Signing in

After signing in to your Capital One account, tap on the mileage balance below the icon of your card. Here, you will get 4 fixed-value redemption methods: cash, gift cards, travel, or transfer.

When choosing to redeem your miles for travel, you can either use your miles as a statement credit against earlier purchases or book new travel. Regardless of the route you take, the redemption rate is always 1 cent per mile.

Option 1: Book new travel via Capital One

You can also book new travel directly via Capital One using your miles. The portal is similar to other booking websites, and since the miles have a fixed value, you’ll never have to think about award limitations and blackout dates. Imagine something similar to Kayak or Travelocity, except you don’t have to enter your credit card number at the end.

Hot Tip: With this option, it’s actually better to book your travel using an online travel agency such as Hotels.com or Orbitz. You can then offset the purchase using the option above. While this isn’t always the best value redemption method, it easily covers all sorts of transactions that you might incur during everyday traveling, such as for ride-sharing, public transportation, or other miscellaneous expenses.

Option 2: Redeem for gift cards

You can redeem at a fixed value of 1 cent each when shopping for gifts cards on sites like Amazon. It can be much more valuable to transfer miles to airline partners, but if you have an upcoming gift you need to give someone, you may find it beneficial to use your miles toward a merchant gift card.

Option 3: Redeem for cash-back

The least useful redemption option is in the form of a check by mail or account credit. This is a poor option since the value of your miles could be cut in half!

Option 4: Transferring miles to another account

Finally, you can transfer your miles to another account. There are no charges linked with this, and as long as the other individual holds a miles-earning card, there are no limitations on who you can transfer them to.

Option 5: Checkout with PayPal

When your eligible card is linked to PayPal, you can checkout with PayPal and redeem your miles at a rate of 125 miles to $1. We’d recommend this only if you can’t use your miles for travel or as a statement credit.

14. What credits qualify as travel purchases?

Capital One’s travel category includes purchases made from:

Redemption availability is based on the code category offered by the merchant for purchases, so ask if you’re not sure — some places you think code as travel actually may not.

Hot Tip: Be careful, since not every purchase you think of as “travel” will code as such.

15. Which credit bureau does Capital One use when you apply for a credit card?

Capital One gets credit reports from 3 credit bureaus for each application: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Therefore, you should be aware that you’ll see an inquiry on all 3 credit reports after applying for your Capital One card. For most, this shouldn’t be a concern.

16. Are Capital One miles taxable?

The straightforward answer is no — Capital One will not send you a tax form for any miles you earn.

17. When do Capital One miles show up in my account after purchase?

You will regularly see miles pending upon the closure of your statement, but you should allow up to 2 billing cycles for them to post.

The good thing is that you can get in touch with Capital One’s customer care to convert pending points to posted points if you’re in a hurry. They have the power to expedite the posting of points for an immediate redemption, which is pretty cool.

Final Thoughts

The Capital One Venture card is more appealing than ever thanks to the integration of airline transfer partners.

With the new ability to transfer those miles to a variety of associated partners, you can receive maximum value, and use those miles to fly business and first class products across the globe. When you the choice to redeem your miles, try a transfer to increase their value — you’ll be happy you did!